Communitech gets $15M in funding from the province

Minister of Finance Charles Sousa announced Thursday that Kitchener-based Communitechwill receive $15 million in funding from the province over the next three years.

This marks a renewed commitment from the province, which has supported thestart-up incubator in the past. Fiveyears ago the province pledged $26.4 million to Communitech.

Premier KathleenWynnesaid it is a worthwhile investment.

"We believe so strongly that the hub of digital and technical expertise in Waterloo is critical to the future of Ontario," said Wynne. "This is a proven enterprise so we want to make sure that it does very well."

The CEO of Communitech Iain Klugman says the funding will help offset recent job losses in Waterloo Region.

"This is great news for a couple of reasons," said Klugman. "This is going to provide us with the resources to continue to support the tech companies and in addition it provides the resources and support as we work to help people who are coming out of BlackBerry to find new roles."